Revathi Malay

At a time of unprecedented rise in temperatures in most of the districts in Karnataka and warnings of further rise in temperatures, some untimely rain in February, the coffee belt of  Karnataka was blessed with the timely and good arrival of the Revathi malay in the districts of Kodagu, Hasan and  Chikmagalur.

Revathi malay (malay means rain in Kannada) is the blossom shower that arrives every year (in a normal year !) and is rainfall that occurs between March 1st and April 30th.Revathi is the rain that is needed for the coffee bud to flower . The blossoming is key to coffee production . This year Revathi has kept her date and has arrived on time much to the relief of the coffee farmer.
However, what is worrying is the warming from the  Meteorological Department, that there is likely to be an average two degree rise in the mean temperature in most districts. This certainly is bad news not just for coffee but for other crops too.

Our most ubiquitous, humble but delicious bananas are under so much stress.The  banana trees have started to  wither due to the lack of water and excessive heat. Coconuts are dropping early and their size reduced due to excess heat, says   Timmegowda, director, All India Coconut Growers’ Federation.This will only get worse. In the Malnad, the summer temperature range was between 18 degrees and 28 degrees Celsius. Today the lower range starts at 28 degrees says Mohan Kumar, a coffee grower in Sakleshpur.

Which brings me to what I like to
ask "why is the measure of love loss ?"

After Revathi, Rohini did not come

After Revathi, the monsoon laden Rohini did not come as she usually does.
Her arrival in June after the Indian summer is life line for all those living in the Malnad and for 150,000 coffee farmers.  The warm Indian summer dries up tanks and springs, but when Rohini arrives, life is back. Springs are activated, tanks are recharged and rivers start to flow.

But this year, Rohini arrived late.Like Rohini, the other rains also arrived late  - Bharini, Kritika, Pushya . They were all late.. Not only were they late, they were not  accompanied by the usual strong winds  -the rains did not get distributed evenly and some  parts of the Malnad received very heavy rains and their were unseasonal downpours. The rains and winds are all changing  in their  patterns. In fact, the beauty of the monsoon pattern  in the shade growing coffee regions is in  its distribution, according to Dr Anand Pereira, an eco friendly coffee planter in Sakleshpur.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, monsoon rains from June to August 8, 2012 have been deficient in North Interior Karnataka by 33 % , South Interior Karnataka by 34%  and in Malnad it has been upto 44% . For a crop that is so dependant on the monsoon and for the 100,000  coffee farmers in Karnataka, mostly small holders , this spells disaster. What is often not known is that most of the coffee farmers are small farmers. According to India's Coffee Board 98.8% of the farmers are small holders - this is the story of coffee cultivation - not just in India but globally, from Africa to the Americas - coffee is produced by  small farmers - some who own hardly 20 to 30 coffee plants. One drought, or one season of incessant rain can wipe them out. And unlike tea, the countries that produce coffee, are countries often too poor to drink it - with the exception of Brazil that consumes 40% of what is produces. The flow of coffee is from developing countries to developed countires - where coffee is produced at the lowest possible  price .The top producers are Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia ,Mexico and the top consumers are  United States, Germany, Japan, France.India is about 5th/6th in coffee production .

So while our farmers who wait and pray for rain, who invoke the rain Gods so that their crops survive  and they get a good harvest, so they can send their kids to school, urban India  awaits the arrival of  its first Starbucks store.